"There ain't but two things in music: good and bad. Now if it sounds good, you don't worry what it is. You're just gonna enjoy it." -- Louis Armstrong

Saturday, March 31, 2012

THE COMPLETE COLLECTION AND THEN SOME... - Barry Manilow

YEAR: 1992

LABEL: Arista

TRACK LISTING: The Best of Me (Intro Only), Sweet Life (Live), I Am Your Child (Live), Could It Be Magic (Featherbed featuring Barry Manilow), Could It Be Magic, Brandy (Original Scott English Single), Mandy (Original First Take), It's A Miracle, Sandra (Live), I Write the Songs, As Sure As I'm Standing Here, New York City Rhythm, Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again (Alternate Take), All the Time, Ready To Take A Chance Again, Somewhere In the Night, The Old Songs, I Don't Want To Walk Without You, If I Should Love Again (Alternate Take), Copacabana (Home cassette of composing the song), Copacabana (At the Copa), Dancin' Fool, I'm Your Man, Hey Mambo, Big Fun, Riders To the Stars (Live), I Wanna Be Somebody's Baby (Live), Daybreak (Live), Even Now (Live), Life Will Go On (Live), Memory (Live), Ships (Live), If I Can Dream (Live), One Voice (Live), This One's For You (Demo), Lay Me Down, Big City Blues, Somewhere Down the Road (Demo), A Little Traveling Music Please, You Could Show Me, Ave Maria, Look To the Rainbow, Joey (Demo), Please Don't Be Scared, Baby It's Cold Outside, When October Goes, Ain't It A Shame, Brooklyn Blues, How Do I Stop Loving You? (Demo), Just Remember (Live), I Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks, Weekend In New England, Give My Regards To Broadway (Live), Send In the Clowns/Looks Like We Made It (Live), Can't Smile Without You (Alternate First Take), Beautiful Music, Fugue For Tinhorns, My Girl/No One In This World, Don't Talk To Me of Love, The Last Duet, Wild Places (Demo), Never Met A Man I Didn't Like, Who Needs To Dream, Read 'Em and Weep, Let Freedom Ring, Let Me Be Your Wings, If Tomorrow Never Comes, Another Life, I Made It Through the Rain (Alternate Take), The Best of Me

IMPRESSIONS: Whenever November rolls around, I always seem to grab for this box set. A superb retrospective of Barr's career including well-known hits, unreleased demos and alternate takes and live performances.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Sweet Life (Live), I Am Your Child (Live), Could It Be Magic, Sandra (Live), Tryin' To Get the Feeling (Alternate Take), All the Time, Somewhere In the Night, Hey Mambo, Big Fun, Riders To the Stars (Live), I Wanna Be Somebody's Baby (Live), Even Now (Live), Ships (Live), If I Can Dream (Live), One Voice (Live), This One's For You (Demo), Lay Me Down, Somewhere Down the Road (Demo), A Little Travelling Music Please, Ave Maria, Baby It's Cold Outside, When October Goes, Brooklyn Blues, Just Remember (Live), I Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks, Weekend In New England, Beautiful Music, Fugue For Tinhorns, Don't Talk To Me of Love, The Last Duet, Never Met A Man I Didn't Like, Read 'Em and Weep, If Tomorrow Never Comes, I Made It Through the Rain (Alternate Take)

FACT SHEET: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION AND THEN SOME... is a career-spanning box set containing 4 cds and 1 videotape (recently remastered and re-released with a DVD). "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" was written by Frank Loesser & Jule Styne. "Memory" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Trevor Nunn & T.S. Eliot. "Ships" was written by Ian Hunter. "Look To the Rainbow" was written by Burton Lane & E.Y. Harburg. "Baby It's Cold Outside" was written by Frank Loesser (which won an Academy Award for Best Song) and "Fugue For Tinhorns" (from the musical "GUYS AND DOLLS"). Barry Manilow & Johnny Mercer wrote "When October Goes", "Just Remember" and "I Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks". George M. Cohan wrote "Give My Regards To Broadway". Stephen Sondheim wrote "Send In the Clowns". "My Girl" was written by Smokey Robinson. "Never Met A Man I Didn't Like" was written by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden & Adolph Green. "Read 'Em and Weep" was written by Jim Steinman. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" was written by Garth Brooks and Kent Blazy. "The Best of Me" was written by Richard Marx, David Foster and Jeremy Lubbock.

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MISSION STATEMENT

Here in the Dark Forest we will reach under a pile of leaves (almost) every day and pull out a favourite album to listen to. These will not be reviews per se but will feature facts, track lists and personal impressions on much-loved albums.

I strongly hope that you will leave comments relating your personal impressions and experiences related to the albums featured here. The only thing better than talking about music is listening to the music itself and I'd love to hear how this music affects you as well. So please let's hear from you.

ONE SMALL NOTE ON THE TERM "ALBUM"

This is, in fact, the correct term. An "album" does not mean a vinyl record; that term would be "record" or "LP". The term "album" means "an album of songs" in the same way as a "photo album" is "an album of photos". The definition of the word "album" means a collection of songs regardless of the medium on which it is presented. An album can be on vinyl, tape, compact disc or computer file but still remains an "album". Originally the term "album" came from the days of 78 rpm records: several records would be packaged together inside a book-shaped "album" with individual sleeves where you would slide out each record to play. With the advent of 33 1/3 rpm records (the first ever LP being Frank Sinatra's IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) all the songs from the 78 rpm package were grouped together on one 33 1/3rd rpm LP which continued to use the word "album" even after this first change in format. That is why this blog will use that term.